20 Years of Growth, Grit and Genuine Care
When Paul Murray walked through the doors on 1st February 2006 as a Continuous Improvement Engineer, Beldam Crossley was in the middle of a major transition. The move from Hill Mill to Lostock was underway — new facility, new layout, new chapter.
“It felt like a reset button,” Paul reflects. “New faces, fresh energy and a real opportunity to embed Continuous Improvement culture from the start.”
Manufacturing was always where he was heading. With practical, “green-fingered” roots and a hands-on mindset, Paul gravitated naturally toward operations. His early career foundation — built through practical learning and shopfloor experience — gave him what he calls “work sense.” That grounding still shapes how he leads today.
Over twenty years, his role has evolved from CI Engineer to Manufacturing Manager, and now Operations Manager — but his focus has remained remarkably consistent: people first, process second.
The Culture Shift That Means the Most
Ask Paul what he’s proudest of after two decades, and the answer isn’t a machine or a metric.
“It’s the Ops team. Watching people come in, grow, achieve, develop through hard work and coaching — that’s the best part of the journey.”
He speaks candidly about a pivotal shift in culture several years ago — moving toward greater self-awareness across the leadership team.
“We committed to continuous professional development and real self-awareness. We brought in training partners who challenged us. Not everyone was comfortable with that at first — but the most sceptical people often became our biggest advocates.”
For Paul, Continuous Improvement isn’t just about lean tools. It’s about understanding the why.
“You have to understand why you’re implementing change. If people don’t feel it makes sense or connects to something meaningful, it won’t stick.”
That mindset has helped develop what he describes as a higher-trust, supportive culture — one where leadership shows personality and genuinely supports individuals, even when conversations are difficult.
The Toughest Chapter
Like many businesses, the pandemic years tested Beldam Crossley in ways no spreadsheet could predict.
“The 12–18 months after March 2020 were the toughest in my career.”
There were hard calls to make. Reduced orders. Uncertainty. Redundancies.
“We had to make some painful decisions due to orders pulling back. But I’m incredibly proud of how we stuck together. It made us closer as an organisation.”
The period demanded calm leadership, fast adaptation and resilience. Safety measures were put in place quickly. Teams adjusted. And slowly, confidence returned.
“What didn’t break us made us stronger.”
Doing More With Less — The Right Way
Over the past 20 years, the operations function has grown dramatically in output and capability.
New CNC machines. Upgraded mills and turning centres. Advanced inspection and testing equipment. Smarter ways of working.
“We’ve doubled our output over the years and grown significantly in capability.”
But perhaps most impressively, productivity improvements have allowed the business to “make with less resource” — not through pressure, but through efficiency and technology.
“We’ve met increased demand by becoming more efficient — not simply by adding headcount.”
Quality expectations have risen too.
“Our standards are higher. There’s more personal pride in work. And we’ve maintained our ISO certifications for over two decades — that’s something we shouldn’t take for granted.”
Looking Ahead: Building the Next Leaders
After twenty years, Paul isn’t looking backward.
He’s focused on succession planning, skills development and ensuring the right capability is in place to support future growth.
“We need to have the skills in place to excel for growth plans. Developing people is critical. That’s how we secure the future.”
He speaks with quiet enthusiasm about expanding into new markets and strengthening the Beldam Crossley brand footprint — not as a vanity metric, but as proof of engineering credibility.
“The opportunity ahead is exciting. Combining smarter technology, better processes and developing talent — that’s how we position ourselves for long-term, sustainable success.”
A Journey Built on People
For Paul, the last two decades haven’t just been about moving from CI Engineer to Ops Manager.
They’ve been about:
- Building trust
- Creating a culture of development
- Supporting teams through uncertainty
- And taking pride in the craft of making things properly
“It’s the people that matter. Seeing them grow, hit output goals, produce quality parts and take pride in what they do — that’s what keeps me motivated.”
Twenty years on, Paul Murray embodies the steady evolution of Beldam Crossley: grounded, resilient, continuously improving — and always people-focused.
Here’s to the next chapter.
